Seven in 10 people polled say asylum seekers should be allowed to enter

Donald Trump signed Oct. 16, a decree prohibiting claims for asylum filed by people who crossed the border illegally. (Photo by Larry W. Smith/Efe/MaxPPP)

A new poll shows that a slim majority of Americans view the approaching immigrant caravan as a threat, as the nation is divided by a growing fear of terrorism and the humanitarian desire to grant safe harbor to asylum seekers.

Despite these fears some 70 percent said the immigrants, many of whom have traveled from Guatemala, should at least be considered for asylum status in the U.S..

“Most of the public express some level of concern about the approaching caravan, some of which may be due to unsubstantiated claims that the group includes terrorists,” said institute director Patrick Murray.

“At the same time, though, most Americans feel that each migrant should be given the opportunity to state their case for entering the United States,” he said.

Earlier, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a joint statement with Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services had appealed for compassion and said that “seeking asylum is not a crime.”

President Donald Trump, who wants to build a wall on the Mexican border, made this a polarizing topic during the recent U.S. mid-term elections.

Critics say he deliberately stoked fears the caravan could be a Trojan horse for criminals, violent South American gangs like MS13, and terrorists from the Middle East in a bid to spread panic and pocket more votes.

The poll, taken just days after the Nov. 6 elections, showed that 25 percent of respondents felt the caravan would include terrorists while another 13 percent were “unsure.”

Showing a split along party lines, 89 percent of Democrats said it should be turned away but only 51 percent of Republicans concurred.

The poll highlights how “few minds were changed at all by the campaign rhetoric on this issue, but it certainly helped deepen the nation’s partisan divide,” Murray said.

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